There’s some more demand to be added to the equation. @usuallyYJLee right again!

I've been getting questions on the #lithium price pullback and market balance.. so here are some broad thoughts and analyses: Demand: - Iran war is massively stimulating switch to EVs. EV sales 90-160% in many countries YoY Apr 2026. Last year's headlines were doom & gloom about "slowing EV sales". In reality, BEVs PHEVs were 20.7m units, pretty healthy. This year I forecast a re-acceleration in EV sales - lithium use 210kt LCE YoY. - BESS growth is pretty insane. Last year installations/shipments were ~320/500GWh. This year it's looking like ~500/850GWh. FYI 850GWh --> ~600kt LCE used in those cells so this segment alone might consume 30% of lithium supply this year. - E-Trucks: Grew 180% (!!) YoY in China last year. More broadly, the Class 4-8 segment represented 5% (86kt LCE) of lithium supply last year and it's just starting to go up the steep part of the S-curve globally. If your analyst doesn't have this in his model, he's missing 150kt LCE use this year. - Overall, global lithium demand grows from 1.5Mt last year to 2.0Mt in 2026, a 500kt LCE jump. Supply: - Mine restarts: To this year's supply, Bald Hill adds 8kt LCE. Ngungajoo adds 10kt. Finniss adds 10kt. Small-ish vs the demand growth. - Mt Holland "doubling capacity": Won't happen until 2028. - CATL Jianxiawo mine: Even if it turned on today, it'd produce only 30kt this year. Less considering ramp-up. And there's a cow or two to relocate if recent videos are to be believed. 😉 - Supply growth has been severely constrained in the last two years as companies could not get financing, or built slower. This WILL be felt in 2026 and 2027. Market Balance: - I see a deficit this year growing to 2030. Much of this is based off BESS growth to 1.76TWh ( 17% from my prev forecast) as countries realize they want to reduce natural gas imports dependence. I'm also pounding the table on E-Trucks here. Watch this space. - I respect Benchmark's gutsy call for a 2027 surplus. I disagree though. They have been pretty conservative on demand forecasts and I think this year will surprise many analysts.

🇦🇷🤝🇺🇸 Excelente encuentro con David Dickson, CEO de Lake Resources, junto al Secretario de Minería de la Nación, Luis Lucero, en la Embajada Argentina en Washington D.C. Conversamos sobre los avances del proyecto Kachi en Catamarca, uno de los desarrollos de litio más prometedores del país: una inversión de USD 1.200 millones de capex, que empleará 1.000 personas y generará 3.000 puestos de trabajo durante su etapa de construcción. Dickson destacó además su participación en Argentina Week, tanto por el nivel de los invitados como por la calidad de los encuentros mantenidos con las máximas autoridades económicas del país. Dialogamos sobre las oportunidades que genera el Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones (RIGI) y las transformaciones lideradas por el Presidente @JMilei, que ofrecen condiciones e incentivos únicos para la inversión en sectores estratégicos como la minería. Argentina se consolida como proveedor estratégico y confiable de litio para las cadenas de valor globales ⚡🔋

It's finally happening. What, you say? The revenge of real assets. Particularly, those that enable technology. Metals. Unpopular. Frowned upon. For decades. Things are FINALLY changing. The truth is out: metals are foundational to AI. Nothing happens without them. AI may seem digital, but it is physically grounded in mined materials. In addition, AI’s growth is also self-reinforcing. The more it expands, the more it needs. Here are 3 key areas: - Copper demand is strongly tied to data center expansion - Lithium and battery materials support energy storage - Rare earths support cooling and electronics The transformation ahead over this decade and next is poised to be mind-blowing.

Wonderful prospects for #lithium in the coming months. Contrary to uninformed forecasts, it does seem like my bullish view of the Li market for the rest of the year will be validated.

The frameworks are now in place and have passed through the US House. We should now start seeing US money deployed in selected critical minerals projects - both on US soil and abroad.

What just happened? The S&P 500 just erased nearly -$2 TRILLION of market cap just hours after 3rd strongest US jobs report in 18 months. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is officially down over -50% from its record high in October 2025. What's happening? Let us explain. (a thread)

The jobs report was a barnburner. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 172,000 versus expectations for 88,000, while prior months were revised higher by 93,000. Wage growth came in at roughly 0.3%.

Yet the market sold off.

In our view, the market is misreading the signal. It is assuming that stronger than expected employment and growth will cause a an acceleration in inflation. History would suggest otherwise. 

Productivity growth is running near 3%, while unit labor costs are hovering around 0.5%. Those are not the hallmarks of an inflationary boom. They are the hallmarks of healthy, productivity-driven growth that will lower inflation.

Meanwhile, the yield curve continues to flatten despite a roughly 55% increase in oil prices year-over-year based on a three month moving average. In past cycles, an energy shock of this magnitude steepened the yield curve when the Federal Reserve was accommodating it. Instead, the bond market appears to be discounting something much more powerful: the deflationary impact of technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, which is beginning to increase productivity across broad swaths of the economy.

If tensions with Iran ease and oil prices retreat, we believe inflation could move into negative territory before year-end.

In our view, the Fed made a historic policy error when it raised rates aggressively into what was largely a supply-driven inflation shock in 2022. We do not believe the next generation of monetary policymakers will be eager to repeat that mistake.

Notably, gold peaked on the day Kevin Warsh was appointed. The inflation trade may already be behind us.

If our research is correct, the next phase of this cycle could be characterized by accelerating growth, declining inflation, falling interest rates, and a strengthening U.S. dollar. That combination would create a remarkably supportive backdrop for innovation-led equities and the technologies driving the next productivity boom.

I discuss this framework in greater detail in this month’s episode of In The Know.

Big gains are there to be made in development miners - particularly those that have de-risked to the point of having an imminent EIA Approval on the cards and be shovel ready in the short term! $LKE $LLKKF is one to consider! - Large resource - DLE that works - Good jurisdiction

An excellent video on Lithium, Argentina, DLE, etc. and the opportunity at hand. $LKE $LLKKF youtu.be/LTwCv9ikHZM

Full respect to Benchmark Minerals and the work they do, but I'm not convinced by the 2027 surplus narrative. I think the market is still underestimating the demand side. China's NEV penetration is already above 60%, battery pack sizes keep rising, and now the Iran oil crisis is adding another layer of wallet pain to the equation. Throughout history, few catalysts have accelerated behavioural change faster than higher energy costs. What feels different today is the convergence. Demand isn't coming from one direction anymore. It's coming from EVs, BESS, behind-the-meter storage, solar, wind, trucks, trains, shipping, boats, eVTOLs, robotics and AI infrastructure all at once. The supply response may well arrive. The question is whether it can outrun demand. Personally, I think the industry is still underestimating just how many batteries the world is about to need.

Self funded retirees now have a min. tax rate of 30% - after setting themselves up to NOT be a burden on the Country and live off their own portfolios. This is so wrong! Capital gains, like any income, should be taxed at the marginal rate. This will hit low income earners hard.

The #lithium market today is arguably stronger than the previous cycle, even if prices are not at all-time highs. Back then, the market was driven heavily by EV hype, panic buying, and supply chain chaos. Today, lithium demand is becoming deeply embedded into global infrastructure planning. Now we have: • Massive BESS/grid storage expansion/solar • AI datacenter power demand and space exploration • Robotics, drones, VTOLs, and automation growth • Heavy trucking and shipping electrification • Military and defence applications • Strategic government supply-chain initiatives • Energy security is becoming a national priority This is no longer just an EV story. The world is rapidly electrifying while simultaneously rebuilding domestic critical mineral supply chains. That creates a much broader and potentially more durable demand foundation than the last cycle. 2022 was a price spike market. 2026 is shaping up to be an infrastructure buildout market. $LAC $NILI.V #Investing

"Hot to trot" - $LKE Chairman @CrowStu has told the Courier Mail's City Beat column investors haven't been this bullish on the "white gold" for some years, amid projections of a looming lithium supply shortage $LLKKF

A great summary of where things are at with Lake Resources $LKE $LLKKF. Game on from here as all of the supporting factors align. linkedin.com/posts/market-op…

#Lithium News: The critical battery metal is now aggressively tightening, with major financial institutions projecting a steep supply deficit by 2026 🔁 REPEAT: "A STEEP SUPPLY DEFICIT BY 2026" ✳️ @ElevraLithium $ELV $ELVR $LAC #EV #BESS #Batteries investingnews.com/lithium-ma…

Signs are there in support of projects like the $LKE $LLKKF Kachi project. Argentina is looking very positive. Knowing how that fits into major US plans for energy dominance/energy security, underlines the potential opportunity even more. Worth watching. youtube.com/live/h2GBqvpIrVU…

The future of trucking is in the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra today! New Energy Transport’s electric trucks are cleaner, faster, and more efficient their dirty diesel older cousins.👇🏽